Russia, Turkey jointly recovering parts of downed jet

Russian military official denies reports that Syrian special forces have seized wreckage of Su-25 plane

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian and Turkish forces are jointly working to recover the wreckage of the Russian Su-25 jet, which was shot down in Syrian Idlib province on Saturday, a military official told journalists on Wednesday.

“Russian military intelligence in cooperation with Turkish colleagues is actively working in this direction and not ineffectively,” said the military official, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

He denied the reports that Syrian special forces have seized the wreckage of the aircraft. “Meaningless reports have no relation to reality. They only harm and not help the cause.”

In the de-escalation zones -- endorsed by Turkey, Russia and Iran -- acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

Controlled by anti-regime armed groups, Idlib has been under intense airstrikes for the last two months.